This is one of those weeks where I barely know what day it is. Between the 4th of July holiday, a couple awesome social gatherings, helping friends move, and even a medical procedure…no day from the past week has been a normal day.
Even today: I write to you mid-roadtrip. I’m in Liberty, Missouri. Halfway to Siloam Springs, Arkansas. We are pulling a trailer and moving all our daughter Emily’s stuff to the apartment she’ll live in after she’s married.
Abnormal days and weeks are inevitable. These changes in routine can be scary or changes in routine can be totally fun. But either way, the disruption of routine and normality can feel deeply unsettling to our inner worlds.
During times like these, I need to take good care of my spirit and mind and heart just to keep my head above water. Or to even remember what day of the week it is.
Things to do when normal life stops being normal:
Pray (a lot). There is only one person who sees this season of your life with perfect perspective and clarity. Talk to Him and tell him your concerns and fears. Read scripture in your prayer time and respond with trust that He is sovereign and stable even when life down here is not. He’s a breath away.
Write. I find writing things down brings clarity and control from chaos. Write a list! If you have a million things to do, start writing a list. Shopping, chores, calendar items, put it all on the list. If you are feeling overwhelmed or anxious, make a list about that too. What are the specific things that are causing you anxiety? Name them. Sometimes (not always) putting these things down on paper helps you see they are smaller or fewer than you thought.
Feel. Some of us need to be reminded to deal with our emotions. I normally work all day and process my feelings verbally with my husband in the evening. That’s a rhythm that works for us. But when your daily routines get disrupted, it’s important to still take time to process your feelings. By giving ourselves time and space and permission to feel and express our emotions, we prevent them from building up and potentially exploding at inopportune moments.
I saw the first Back To School supplies being put out in stores on the 5th of July. I ran the other direction. Boring old regular, predictable school scheduled days will be here before we know it. But in the meanwhile, I am fighting for joy in my inner world right here in the not normal life.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4: 16-18).
